Taste, deliciously smooth. Alesmith always pulls this shit, huge abv, no sign of it on the palate. Way to go. What I really liked about the mouthfeel here was that it wasn't an overly sweet or alcoholic barleywine. Worked well with the low carbonation. Resisted the urge to make this hoppy and bitter, which was a pretty good choice after having drank this. Malt was thick enough to cover the alcohol, but wasn't chewy or challenging, just complimentary.

This beer poured out as a brownish amber color. The head is nice then it settles into a bubbly white film of the beer leaving some decent lacing. The smell is hoppy and malty, but there are way mote hops on the nose for sure. The taste is a little citrusy sweet with a good malty finsh. The hops really kick ass on this brew. The mouthfeel is smooth and yet has a great bitter quality. Overall it's a barley for the head head I think. Pretty Impressive brew it think.

S- Floral and piney hops..with come citrus (orange and lemon zest) to it which is suprising because its over a year old. Slightly bready, caramel and brown sugar notes.

T- Orange oil and lemon zest are definitely upfront followed by a bready and biscuty feel probably from the pale malt..There is a slight hop bite mid-mouth but its not too bitter, you can tell the hops have faded a bit for there is a "hole" in where I feel that there should be hops. This was probably a hop bomb fresh though..There is some sweet caramel in the middle that gets subdued by the grainy pale malt and there is also some molasses and dark fruit in the middle to the end.

M- Soft, medium carbonation with a very smooth mouthfeel. There is a little sting and warmth from the alcohol and a slight bite from the hops.

O- It is a really drinkable great beer. The booziness is a little overpowering in the finish but overall it is a really great beer. This beer covers all the bases and I'm certainly glad that I have more in the cellar. I wish I could have tried it fresh as well.

A: Served in a Chimay goblet, the beer pours a murky/cloud dark copper brown. A half to full inch of creamy foam head forms both a consistent ring, and layer of film on top. Great lacing.

S: I pick up on scents of sweet malted barley, sticky toffee, caramel, and some citrus hops for balancing. Smells pretty decadent though.

T: Caramel, rich toffee, sweet malted barley, and citrus hops that add the right bitterness. Great balance, and a nearly perfect mirror to the nose, so much so I find it difficult to add anything I haven’t already described, only that I could easily take large gulps of this, but know better not too.

M: Medium to light, and a light creamy quality.

O: Very nice stuff. Good represenatation of the style, and just in general, a good sipping beer. Alcohol is well hidden, and you get a slow nice warming while sipping. I can only imagine what the bourbon barrel would do to this, hoping to try that version some day.

On a side note, another good beer on tap at Instant Replay, $5 for a goblet of it, pretty great deal.

Is this beer suppose to be flat? Beer is brown and hazy with nearly no head, no carbonation, no lacing. Oh no!

Aroma of the beer is unimpressive, mildly sweet, some fruitiness, overall VERY WEAK.

Beer begins looking up in flavor, seriously. About damn time. Beer is medium in body, thick on the palate, Mildly bitter at the end but entirely from grains, a late residual sweetness, not my favorite but a decent beer overall. Sucks I'm ending my night with such an unremarkable beer.

A: Unfiltered - there are quite a few floaties in this one. It looks like freshly squeezed acai juice. This isn't nearly as dark and robust as most of the other barleywines we poured. A good pour yields a 1.25 head and minor lacing.

S: Hops, big hops and some sweet alcohol esters.

T: This is a prime example of an American (primarily west coast) barleywine. Loads of big, robust hops and forceful malt that break onto the mid-palate. The heavy alcohol and figs appear at the end, but the bitterness from the hops reemerge on the finish.

Chestnut in color, with a firm off-white head, this beer is clear and relatively low in carbonation. The aroma is intense with malt...caramel and bread, with a little alcohol and fruit as well. The taste is malty and sweet, with a sharp alcohol bite. The hops are not pronounced in the aroma, but intense hop bitterness comes out in the taste. West coast. The body is a little light for the style, but still sufficiently rich. Nice balance for the style. Lingering hop finish, accented by the warmth. Overall good.

This beer imported and shared with a friend at the Abner pub in Norman, OK.

Pours a clear red color with some bubbles on the top. The aroma is strong with apples and bread. The taste has hints of apple, cherry, raisins and caramel. The mouthfeel is very smooth and velvety and finishes with a nice fruity aftertaste. The alcohol is a little present as it goes down your throat. Overall a great barleywine.

The color is a cloudy caramel, with a generous amount of off-white head.

The smell is heavy on the caramel with accents of pine and, to a lesser degree, citrus hops. It smells extremely sweet.

The taste follows suit with caramel, brown sugar, and dates. It's almost to the point of being coyingly sweet, but the hops cut it just enough to keep it from getting that far. The resinous hops outweigh the citrus hops by far.

Mouthfeel is sticky and on the lighter side of syrupy. Very heavy-bodided. The booze comes through.

Overall, a very good beer but a tough one to have more than one glass. I'd recommend splitting a bottle with friends.

So I was listening to the Founders and current brew master of Stone Brewery talking about this beer on the radio. They had nothing but good things to say about it. I have had this beer before and thought it would be good to revisit and give it a review.

So popping this big bottle open and pouring out ever so cautiously as not to rouse the brewers yeast. The beer looks like apple cider. A creamy head forms and sort of looks like a light pancake batter. The beer smells great. It has a nice fruity aroma with a nice bite from the hops. The label on the bottle says that this beer is "Big and hoppy with citrus and resin overtones" and I couldn't agree more. It really is a tasty brew. I really enjoy the finish on the back end. The mouth feel on this is good. Has a good amount of carbonation and not to heavy.

AleSmith Make some great beers and Old Numbskull is one of them. I would have to say that this beer definitely holds true to the definition of American Barleywines with its strong hop character and fruitiness. I think I want to try and age on of these things to see what kind of flavor changes happen. My local beer store is selling a 750ml or about 25 oz bottle for $10.99 and I recommend you pick one of these up as its good stuff.

A - A fingers and a half worth of densely packed creamy yet chunky light tan frothy head... Modest retention gives way to an uneven lacing and thick collar... A warm reddish brown amber color... Mostly still with some faint sluggish carbonation clinging to the sides of the glass towards the top when agitated...

T - Much of the anticipated sweetness is absent... Bready malts... A bit of nuttiness... A sturdy pronounced hop bit rises on the finish that is mostly citrusy with a touch of pine mixed in... A bit of booze lingers...

M - Medium bodied... A tad on the thin side... Chalky texture... Perfectly carbonated... Not much viscosity... A bit chewy...

D - An interesting take on the American Barleywine... The appearance and nose are spot on, but from there the drinker is treated to a slight departure from expectations in the other facets... Another excellent job from Alesmith, a brewery that never disappoints...

A: Appears a color at the crossroads of brown, red, and orange, with perfect transparency. The frothy head rises one inch above the liquid, leaving lingering bubbles and scattered lacing after the recession.

A: Aroma displays a monolithic hop profile with a mixture of pine and grapefruit. There's a firm bready malt foundation with light toffee notes and a touch of alcohol. Some earthy notes are evident as well.

S: Upper moderate bitterness with bold grapefruit rind and flesh notes, as well as pine and traces of orange. Malt provides some bread flavor in addition to light caramel notes. As the beer warms up the subtle malt sweetness comes through, constantly hounding the bitterness but never coming close to overtaking it. Alcohol is masterfully hidden for 11%. The finish is dry and bitter with lingering pine and grapefruit.

M: Upper medium body with moderate carbonation. Mouthfeel is dry and sticky, with a low astringency and some warming in the finish that stays with you for a while.

Overall: Another awesome Alesmith beer that I overlook far too often. One of my favorite American Barleywines and really fantastic when fresh.

This bottle of Old Numbskull has been sitting in my cellar for the past couple years. I'm basing this review on a well preserved aged version of the beer.

Old Numbskull pours a hazy copper color with a two-finger wide off white head on top. As the foam fades a sheet of netted lace clings to the side of the glass.

The aroma is malty with notes of caramel and dark fruits, such as raisins and fig. There's also a nice hint of orange citrus blended in.

Each sip of this medium to full bodied beer is soft on the palate, lightly chewy, with an oily finish. The flavor is malty sweet with enough hop bitterness to balance it out. It begins with sweet caramel malt, raisins/fig, cherry, vanilla and oak. Towards the end bitter orange citrus moves in. It finishes with a touch of medicine and alcohol. Once gone the dark fruit notes and citrus hops linger on the palate.

This is definitely a sipping beer. It held up well after a couple of years. I'm guessing the alcohol burn has mellowed over time. Tasty and well balanced.

I enjoyed the 2008 vintage of this beer along side the BA version. I like to taste the base beer along side a barrel aged beer just to get a hint of what different character might translate over.

This beer pours a nice amber brown color with a good level of carbonation. It has a good clarity to it and when poured vigorously it produces a nice white head.

Even with two years on it this beer has a nice floral hoppy aroma. Lots of caramel, biscuit and bread-y malts in the background give this a strong backbone. It also has some sweet sugars in it most likely resulting from age.

A mellowed hop profile is perfect alongside sweet sugary malt flavors. From what I have read in reviews it sounds like this is a fairly hoppy beer when fresh, so I now understand how the hops are still present.

A medium carbonation that is goes good with the hops, makes it even more drinkable. There is not a strong 'heat' character in this beer which made me happy. I am going to track down a fresh bottle and re-review.

Nose has alot of everything in it. Plenty of hops, alcohol, fruit and toasty malt. Not sure what vintage this is, but it is showing a bit of oxidation and this one hasn't cellared long.

Raisiny alcohol up front with a big malt body - toasty caramel. Surprisingly smooth at 11% and not much hop flavor, but shows a biting, resinous hop bitterness. Shows less oxidation in the taste, it reminds me of a burnt raisin bagel...in a good way. This is an excellent barleywine that gets better the further into the bottle you get. To style, yet different. Smooth, but has enough rough edges to make it a sipper and keep you on edge. I like it, but not sure about the ageability.